Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals (Book Summary)

I read this book by Dr. Heidi Grant Halvorson, a social psychologist, because, well, I want to be more successful at reaching my goals – don’t we all? The research discussed here-within supports my objective because willpower is not an innate strength – it a muscle of self-control and perseverance – and therefore it can be improved through exercise and rest, and compensated for with customized incentives.

The cherry on top is that developing self-control in one area improves it in many other areas of your life – cleaning more regularly, for instance, when you get in the habit of exercising regularly – without conscious intention. Resting, by the way, can be as simple as thinking of something uplifting or someone you know with self-control (as long as you don’t imagine simulating it, which exercises self-control when you need to rest). The point is that anyone can succeed, you and me included.

Get Ready

Know thyself. I tend to think in more abstract terms, describing the why of my behaviour, because big-picture and long-term give me a sense of purpose. But thinking in concrete terms is more useful when the behaviour is unfamiliar and complex, or when you need to evaluate feasibility for the near future and take action.

I also tend to believe if I have to work hard at something, I must not be very good at it, and therefore prefer to do things that come naturally to me. This approach can cost me enriching life experiences. At the same time, I’ve always been a fan of self-improvement, secretly practicing basketball for hours and hours because it was something I wanted even while I recognized it was never going to be my forte. Following this incremental theory keeps me improving despite mistakes.

• Set specific, difficult (but possible) goals so you don’t settle for “good enough” and instead enjoy your accomplishment.
• Be confident you will succeed but recognize the process will be challenging so you’re prepared to put in the effort required.
• Just about anything can trigger goal pursuit unconsciously, including cues we set up for ourselves. Simply befriending academically ambitious students, for instance, led me to pursue my desires more directly without realizing the effect at the time.

Get Set

Different outlooks impact many aspects of how we attain goals. For instance, due to my tendency toward conservative preservation (see prevention-focused goals below), I can pick a path and stick to it without procrastinating. But when I have a promotion goal (see below), I’m more exploratory, abstract, creative, and risk-taking. The trick is to set the right goal for the person and situation. If I need speed now, I go for promotion – if I need accuracy and maintenance, I go for prevention.

What Comes First: Cardio or Weights? Workout Myths and Exercise Science (Book Summary)

My boyfriend and I finally joined a gym. We’ve been following YouTube videos and online programs long enough and wanted access to more equipment. Plus, getting out of the apartment together and doing something positive for ourselves is feeling great.

Of course, the first thing I’ve done is get a ton of books on exercise science from the library. What Comes First: Cardio or Weights? by Alex Hutchinson appealed to me because I feel like I have a lot of knowledge, I’m just not certain what’s really true.

A few points I learned:

• First of all, the answer to the title: start with the most important activity – if they are equal, mix it up.
• High-intensity interval training 7 minutes a week can benefit your body as much as 300 moderate activity like cycling – though, the benefits are mostly from muscles, so endurance is still recommended in the mix to pump the heart.
• At the same time, more exercise – and more intense exercise – is almost always better: following government guidelines cuts your risk of dying in half, while going further can reduce risk up to 70%.
• Going too hard, too soon, for too long can cause injury and weaken your immune system.
• About 20-62% of variation in exercise participation seems to be inherited through personality and physiology, but everyone can reap benefits from exercise.
• It takes 6 weeks to boost endurance, but health can performance can improve within days, then losses occur after about 2 weeks without training.

More specifically,

• The differences between running on a treadmill and running outdoors are too small to matter – just set the treadmill to 0.5-1% incline.
• Weight machines isolate muscles and help keep beginners from making mistakes.
• Elliptical machines compare to treadmills in the way weight machines compare to free weights – just as good as one another, but different, mainly lower-impact vs. more functional.
• Aim for 70% aerobic (below 80% of max for 20-60 minutes), 10% anaerobic (above 90% of ma for 0.5-3 minute bursts), and 20% threshold (80-90% of max for surges of 3-10 minutes) – where max heart rate is usually 180-200 bpm for a 30-year old.
• You likely breathe well naturally for cardio, but may need to focus on exhaling as you lift weights and not holding your breath.
• Experienced runners naturally learn to take shorter strides so the foot hits the ground below the body, not in front.
• For 3-4 months, lift weights you can manage for 1-3 sets of 8-12 reps, increasing over time. Work toward something like 4 sets of 20 reps with rests under 90 seconds for endurance. Experiment with variety.
• You should be unable to lift the weight again when you complete the final set.
• Strengthen your core (deep abs, lower back, pelvic and hip muscles) with Pilates and functional exercises like hip abductor and flexor.

50 Ways to Soothe Yourself (100% in 1% Book Summary)

Many people are taught to mindlessly distract themselves to self-soothe. These temporary solutions like emotional eating can become the source of distress. For this reason, I just finished the audiobook for 50 Ways to Soothe Yourself Without Food by Susan Albers (who also wrote EatQ, the first book I summarized in my 100% in 1% series). Although I’m familiar with many of the techniques described in this book, I found it very helpful to have them listed together with practical advice.  

Albers states we learned self-soothing from our primary caregivers and others early on. Interestingly then, if you did not get hugs when you were younger, a hug now may not help. You also may not have been taught how to talk yourself down. Or perhaps you taught yourself through trial and error. According to attachment theory, you can strengthen these skills at any point in your life.

Practice healthier coping mechanisms so you’re good at them by the time you need them.

At first, you don’t have to change your behaviour, just mindfully observe your eating patterns for at least a week. Go at your own pace. Pay attention to your feelings, observing urges. Take baby steps. Shape your behaviour by rewarding gradual steps. You don’t have to do anything perfectly, just do something close to the desired behaviour. When you’re ready, fully engage in the behaviour to get familiar and habituated.

Take an inventory of your most successful soothing techniques to leverage your strengths. Every morning, check in with yourself and make a self-soothing forecast to prepare accordingly. Check before eating if you have emotional or physical hunger.

If you don’t know what to do in an emotional emergency, choose one technique from each of the five areas below to cover all needs. Try techniques more than once because they may be more helpful in different circumstances.

Mindfulness Meditation

1. Create mindful moments. Stop and mindfully smell the roses, noticing sensations. Try a mindful walk.

2. Practice meditating. There are many meditation styles to help clear your mind. The relaxation response reverses the fight-or-flight response.

3. Breathe. Mindful breathing draws your attention away from stressful thoughts. Talk to yourself about how to breathe well.

4. Strengthen your endurance to counter stress eating. Slow down and make conscious choices. Create a 5-10 minute gap between feeling an urge to eat and responding to it.

How to Be Happy at Work for Life (WE Book Summary)

I just read We: How to Increase Performance and Profits through Full Engagement but, unlike my usual approach, I didn’t take notes. Still, I was inspired to write a summary. Work not only takes time from other areas of our lives; it also induces emotions influencing all areas: relationships, health, and happiness. The more engaged you are in your work, the happier you will be at work and in life overall. Employers and managers can only create an environment facilitating positive emotions; the rest is up to each individual employee.

• Go for a work-life blend, not balance. The idea they’re separate isn’t true anyway.
• Find your purpose and passion. If you can’t fit it into your job yet, find a hobby to give you meaning aligned with your personal passions.
• Understand the role you play. By seeing how your work impacts others and the organization overall, you can feel part of a team with a common goal.
• Grow your own career. In HR, we see time and time again how important career development is to an employee’s satisfaction and engagement.
• Build relationships. You’re with these people a lot, and they can make your life a lot easier if you have a rapport.
• Set small goals. Build positive habits. You’ll get small wins contributing to big results. Use your strengths and learn new things for maximum effect.
• Take on accountability. Commit publicly. You’ll show initiative, leadership, and responsibleness, plus you’ll be more motivated.
• If you just don’t fit the culture, find a new team or organization. It’s worth it.

The End of Overeating (100% in 1% Book Summary)

Book Summary

The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite by David A. Kessler

Concept

The settling point theory says the body keeps an adult’s weight within a certain range with homeostatic mechanisms, but the range is not predetermined – it’s determined by the drive to eat, the capacity to be satisfied, ability to oxidize fat, motivation, availability, etc. Stimulating the reward centre leads to more pursuit of pleasure regardless of rational need for it.

Sugar, fat, and salt make us eat more sugar, fat, and salt. A variety of readily available palatable food engages the full range of our senses and stimulate appetite. While protein empties from the stomach at 4 calories a minute, sugary foods empty at 10 calories a minute, satisfying hunger for a much shorter time. And while fat empties the stomach at 2 calories a minute, the body is slow to process those signals.

Recommendations

“Food Rehab” treats a chronic problem that can be managed but not completely cured. “We remain vulnerable to the pull of old habits, although with time and the rewards that accompany success, they do lose some of their power … Eventually we can begin to think differently about food, recognizing its value to sustain us and protect us from hunger, and denying it the authority to govern our lives.”